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Prosecutors in Istanbul asked a criminal peace judge to order the detention of 40 of the 63 people held in an investigation into alleged tender rigging and extortion at Bakirkoy Municipality.

The group referred to court includes 21 municipal employees and 19 company representatives. Prosecutors also requested judicial control measures in the form of travel bans or house arrest for several other suspects, and released six people after their statements.

Detention sought for 40 suspects

The Bakirkoy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating allegations that irregularities in tender files for goods and services bought by Bakirkoy Municipality caused financial losses to the public. Statements of 21 municipal employees and 19 firm representatives at the courthouse were completed before the group was referred to the criminal peace judge with a request for arrest.

The prosecution said it based the detention request on the nature of the offences, the corresponding penalties, the number of acts and the state of the evidence.

Travel bans and house arrest requested

Prosecutors also sought a travel ban as a judicial control measure for 12 company representatives who submitted bids in public tenders and for 3 municipal employees, after weighing the number and nature of the acts, the type of bids offered, links between the suspects and other factors.

A travel ban was also requested for suspect Metin Soğuksu, with the situation to be reassessed once reporting on digital data seized during searches is complete. For Mustafa Özdemir, prosecutors asked for a ban on leaving home, citing the classification and nature of the offence, the current evidence and the suspect's age.

Five municipal employees and one company representative were released after giving statements, with the evidence situation taken into account. Those released were Bakirkoy Municipality Legal Affairs Manager Sinan Derman, Private Secretary Manager Suzan Kurt, Revenues Manager Hamza Sayan, inspection unit chief İbrahim Halil Mercan, municipal employee Muhammed Beran Pekyen and company official Ümit Güngör.

Complaints over permits and tenders

The investigation was opened after reports that irregularities in municipality tender files caused public losses, that business owners applying for workplace operating permits were unlawfully asked for money, and that permit procedures for those who refused to pay were left in limbo.

The probe covers the offences of rigging public tenders and extortion. It draws on an expert review of 42 tender files carried out by different municipal departments in 2024 and 2026 using open and negotiated procedures, HTS records, MASAK reports, and assessments of communications interception and technical surveillance measures. As a result, detention decisions were issued for 68 suspects, including deputy mayors, municipal council members, municipal staff and representatives of companies that took part in the tenders.

An operation run by the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Branch of the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command resulted in the capture of 58 suspects, among them deputy mayors Nurcan Alan, Ali Rıza Akyüz, Cemalettin Özdemir, Arda Karadağ and Abdülhamit Pehlivan, as well as two council members. Further work raised the number detained to 63. Those held completed police procedures, underwent health checks and were sent to Bakirkoy Courthouse.

Officials and company representatives named

The municipal employees sent to court on a detention request are deputy mayors Abdülhamit Pehlivan, Cemalettin Özdemir, Arda Karadağ, Ali Rıza Akyüz and acting deputy mayor Nurcan Alan; municipal council members Mustafa Fazlıoğlu and Erkan Gül; Urban Planning and City Development Manager Abdülkadir Akay; Inspection Unit Manager Ahmet Kekellüoğlu; Support Services Manager Yunus Alışkan; Cleaning Affairs Manager İbrahim Yavuz; Urban Transformation Manager Mustafa Fatih Özkan; acting Support Services Manager Duygu Muş; former IT Manager Nusret Sapa; Works Manager Derya Güler; municipal staff Ayhan Kıvılcım, Berkay Biçer, Selin Çiftçi, Kaan Dengiz and Ferhat Ferahi Çelik; and workshop chief Yüksel Ercan Akçabay.

The company officials facing a detention request are Ali Kemal Şahinsoy, Ahmet Adnan Özyirmidokuz, Ali Murteza Alır, Alper Demirtaş, Birkan Dıragat, Cemal Arıkan, Eyyüp Alır, Fırat Duran, Gökhan Konur, Gürkan Dıragat, Hasan Mercan, Hüseyin Kıran, Mehmet Muhlis Öner, Mehmet Sırrı Özdemir, Osman Akın, Ömer Tuncer, Tolgahan Acar, Veli Çakırca and Yılmaz Tuna.

Judicial control was requested for municipal staff Muharrem Atmaca, Altan Bulan and Gözde Altıntop, and for company officials Özge Mutlu, Emin Kılıç, Abdülaziz Öksüz, Ebubekir Öksüz, Özkan Taşlıcalı, Mert Ece, Hakan Kurtgişi, Gökhan Kaya, Yasemin Kaya, Bünyamin Seven, Feyza Kıran and Gencay Seçilir.

Key takeaways

• Prosecutors asked a court to jail 40 of the 63 suspects detained in the Bakirkoy Municipality investigation, including 21 municipal employees and 19 company representatives.
• The probe covers tender rigging and extortion, and is based on expert reviews of 42 tender files, HTS records, MASAK reports and surveillance measures.
• Detention decisions were issued for 68 suspects in total; an operation captured 58 and later work raised the figure to 63.
• Judicial control measures including travel bans and house arrest were sought for other suspects, while six people were released after giving statements.